As more rallies protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions were held in several major cities today, authorities released more information about an incident in which four people were injured at a demonstration in Winnipeg and reported one arrest at a mass gathering in Toronto.
A second weekend of protests by the so-called “freedom convoy” is taking place in the country’s capital of Ottawa, with as many as 300 to 400 trucks expected to try and enter the downtown core, according to police estimates, along with up to 2,000 people on foot and another 1,000 counter-protesters.
Protests in Toronto, Quebec City, Fredericton, Winnipeg, Regina and Victoria have started, are underway or expected near their respective provincial legislatures.
A protest at the Canada-U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alta. also remains ongoing. RCMP said protesters on horseback joined the truck blockade on Saturday, with more than 100 horses estimated to be there along with food trucks. Police say traffic is still moving in both directions across the border.
As the protests continued in Toronto on Saturday afternoon, police confirmed on Twitter that a 22-year-old man had been arrested for assault with a weapon, administering a noxious substance — a smoke bomb — and public mischief.
Earlier that same day, Winnipeg police said a man from Headingly, Man., was in custody after four men were injured in a hit-and-run outside of the provincial legislature the previous night.
Winnipeg police say a Jeep Patriot drove through a group of protesters, who have parked in front of the legislative building since Friday morning, before speeding away and driving through red lights.
Officers from the Winnipeg Police Service and RCMP later stopped the vehicle and arrested a 42-year-old man. One of the injured men was treated in hospital and released, while the three others were treated at the scene of the collision for minor injuries.
Police say the accused was not participating in the protest and it did not appear the underlying causes of the demonstration motivated his actions.
